David and Judy Wax, a New Jersey rabbi and his wife, are being released on $500,000 bond each after they were charged with "abducting an Israeli man, beating him and threatening to bury him alive if he didn't give his wife a religious divorce." The couple surrendered to the FBI earlier this morning.
The victim, who has not been identified, apparently fled Israel after refusing to grant a "get," an Orthodox Jewish divorce document. Then, according to the FBI's complaint, the victim was lured to the Wax home to discuss a book he was writing. "Once in the home, the victim was allegedly bound, robbed, shown a body bag and told he'd be buried alive in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains if he didn't agree to the divorce."
David Wax is also accused of threatening to have the victim's father killed if he didn't pay $100,000, but his lawyer strongly denies the charges. "He has no history of any type of criminal behaviors or violent behaviors. He's the father of eight children," Mitchell Ansell, David Wax's attorney, told The Associated Press. "We're confident that when all the facts are made public, he'll be cleared of these charges and his good and honorable name will be restored."
Both Wax and his wife have plead not guilty. Between this and the rabbi caught on camera schtupping a prostitute on the sabbath, maybe rabbis with secrets might want to be extra careful this week? Three is a trend and all.
